David Bach is Professor of Strategy and Political Economy, Rio Tinto Chair in Stakeholder Engagement, and Dean of Innovation and Programs. He will assume the Presidency of IMD on 1 September 2024.
Through his award-winning teaching and writing, Bach helps managers and senior executives develop a strategic lens for the nexus of business and politics. This enables them to more effectively navigate the myriad political challenges facing business, from corporate diplomacy and resurgent economic nationalism to stakeholder demands for greater sustainability and shaping policies for a post-COVID-19 world. His course The End of Globalization? – designed in the aftermath of the Brexit vote and the rise of populist leaders across Western democracies – received the 2018 Ideas Worth Teaching Award from the Aspen Institute.
As Dean of Innovation and Programs at IMD, he has led efforts to enhance the school’s global reach and impact through programmatic and pedagogical innovation. He is looking to accelerate these efforts as IMD President.
For decades, IMD has set the bar for real learning that has real impact. Leaders and organizations are facing unprecedented challenges that require fresh thinking and new approaches. In keeping with our purpose – ‘Challenging what is, inspiring what could be’ – I look forward to broadening and deepening the impact of our faculty and expert staff via our programs, thought leadership, and services. At IMD, we are committed to doing our part to enable a world that is prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive.”
Bach is one of the main architects of the Global Network for Advanced Management, an alliance of 32 top global business schools from five continents, of which IMD has been a member since 2012. In his previous position at Yale School of Management, where he served as Deputy Dean, he led the successful expansion of the school’s degree program portfolio and the creation of Yale Center Beijing.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Yale and earned a PhD in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.
